M81 and M82
The pair of galaxies M81 and M82 in the constellation Ursa Major lie nearly 12 million light-years away. M81 is a calm, bright galaxy with spiral arms winding down to its core. It was discovered already in 1774 by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode. In contrast, the galaxy M82 has an elongated "cigar" shape and is undergoing turbulent new star formation, which is related to the gravitational influence of the neighboring galaxy M81. A prominent feature of the "Cigar" galaxy is the red-glowing expanding gas and dust that is blown away from the galaxy by the particle wind.
